Nanotechnology Comes to St. Virgil Academy

St. Virgil Academy in Morris Township is introducing their junior school students to the smallest of lessons in a really big way.  With the start of the 2013/14 school year, the Academy will be partnering with Northwestern University to bring the world of nanotechnology to its classrooms.  The students will learn about building simple structures on a molecular scale and, in turn, how such creations can improve the quality of life in fields such as medicine and communications.  Once an idea no one ever thought possible, is now reality—learning how to building things that are smaller than the size of cell to help people throughout the world is an amazing opportunity for these students.

This new area of study is the latest addition to the school’s robust STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) curriculum, which was implemented several years ago and has grown in size and scope ever since.  In addition to this new partnership with Northwestern University, the school has also been collaborating with subject matter experts from Picatinny Arsenal, the Army’s principal research, development and engineering facility, in Dover, NJ and Steven’s Institute of Technology.

St. Virgil Academy is now recognized as a leader in Catholic school STEM education.  This includes the youngest pre-school students through to the oldest middle school students.  Using their dedicated STEM laboratory, all the children can use hands-on approaches to learn and discover solutions to real-life problems.  The truly unique aspect of this approach to learning, of course, comes from their Catholic foundation—using this STEM approach to teach students how to be faith-filled, morally responsible, citizens who can make a difference in our global community, both now and in the future.

For more information on St. Virgil Academy and its offerings, including STEM, please contact the school office at 973-539-7267 or visit our website at www.stvirgilacademy.org.  Also, the school will be hosting an open house for the general public this Sunday, August 18, 2013 from 1:00 – 3:00 PM.   Parents and children alike are invited this Sunday to take a tour of the school, meet the school principal, Mrs. Debbie Duane, explore the school’s mission and educational philosophy and learn how an SVA education could benefit your child.  St. Virgil Academy is a co-educational school on the campus of St. Virgil Parish and has programs for children from 2 ½ years of age through Grade 8.